Mail-bag catcher.



J. M, CARVER. MAIL BAG GA-TGHER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1907.

Patented Apr. 13, 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcn.

JAMES M. CARVER, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

MAIL-BAG GATCHER.

Application filed August 17, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES M. CARVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in appliances for receiving mail bags from, and delivering them to fast moving trains, and its objects are: first, to provide an appliance with which mail bags may be taken from fast moving trains without danger of dropping and injuring the mail, and, second, to rovide an appliance with which the mail ag may be delivered to a fast moving train without danger of injuring the bag or mail, or of throwing it across the car and out through the o posite car door. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is an elevation of the catcher complete. Fig. 2 is a top plan of the same. Fig. 3 is the same shown in section practically on the line a r of Fig. 4, and showing a direct edge view of the net frame. Fig. 4 is a sec tional elevation of the device practically on the line '1 y of Fig. 2, with the net frame removed. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the net frame showing the retaining arms and the trip. Fig. 6 is an edge view of the same in section on the line .2 2 of Fig. 5, with the actuating springs removed to show the catch that holds the actuating arms to position against the tension of the springs. Fig. 7 is the same showing a different form of trip and catch. Fig. 8 is the same showing the retaining arm set upon the opposite edge of the net frame support or flange, and Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation of the supporting arm on the'line y y of Fig. 2.

Similar characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The base 5 of my device is supposed to be securely bolted to the railroad ties, or some other safe and firm foundation, and the standard 4 is securely fastened into it to provide a firm, rigid support for the operating portion of the device. There is a co ar 6 securely connected with the standard near its longitudinal center to act as a resisting element against the tension of the spring 8 when the arm 3 is thrown around in either direc tion from its normal position, as, for instance, to the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, and a collar 7 loosely Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 13, 1909.

Serial No. 389,053.

mounted upon it above the spring 8, and the spring 8 is securely attached to both of these collars, as indicated in Fig. 4, and another collar 9 is securely attached to the upper end of the standard 4, the use of which will be fully explained in connection with the rod 11.

The tubular standard 1 is designed to oscillate or revolve freely on the collars 6 and 9 on the standard 4, and has a lever 15 pivoted to it at b and provided with a right angled end that is designed to pass through the wall of the standard 1 and into the collar 7 to hold this collar firmly with the standard 1 so that if the standard is made to revolve in either direction from its normal position it will carry the upper end of the spring 8 around with it and, thus, impart sufficient tension to the spring to cause it to carry the standard back to its normal position as soon as it is released, and this head may be readily withdrawn from engagement with the collar 7 by ressing on the end 15 of the lever. I wil now proceed to explain the necessity of withdrawing the head of the lever from the collar 7.

It is perfectly understood that this device must be so arranged that a mail bag may be received from, or delivered to a car moving in either direction, and I find it necessary to change the line of tension of the spring 8 accordingly, and for this purpose I have provided two, or more, holes or notches f in the collar 7 for the reception of the headf on the lever 15, so that the position of the standard 1 with the standard 4 may be changed, revolubly, if desired.

The standard 1 is provided with a collar or head 2 which is designed to receive and firmly support the arm 3 at right angles with the standards. This arm is made of tubing and I generally place a flange 21 upon the outer end of it, as in Figs. 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8 which forms a collar in the outer end of the arm to form a resistance against the tension of the spring 22, though the flange portion may be dispensed with, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

I place a sliding tube 10 inside of the arm 3 and place a collar 11 at the back end of it to resist the tension of the spring 22 so that if the centrifugal force of the mail bag draws the tube 10 out, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, the rebound of the spring will force the tube 10 and the net frame 16 back to its normal position. The design of this spring is to ease the strain caused by the sudden approach of the mail bag to the net frame. A flange 26 is secured to the outer end of the inner tube 10 and the net frame 16 is secured to this flange in position to safely receive the mail bag regardless of the velocity with which a train may be moving, and this is held to the desired position by means of the lever 14 which has a head 14 at right angles with the lever and in position to pass through an opening in the arm 3 and into one of the slots 12 in the tube 10. I form two slots 12 in the tube 10, as shown in Fig. 9, so that this tube may be turned one half way around and secured to place by the lever 14 in either position, so that the net frame may be set to catch the mail bag from either direction, as hereinbefore suggested. The net frame is securely attached to the flange 26 and has a trip lever 17 pivoted to it, as upon the shaft 19, which lever is held to normal position by contact with the locking bar 11. The locking bar 11 is designed to lock the arm 3 to the desired position by entering a hole in the collar 9. This collar may be provided with one or more of said holes, as indicated at (Z and (1, so that more or less tension may be given the spring, or the direction of the tension upon the spring 8 may be governed by changing the contact of the locking bar 11, and the arm is released so that the arm 3 may revolve with the motion of the moving mail bag, by the mail bag striking the lever I 17 and drawing the bar 11 from contact with the collar 9. The lever 17 may be connected with the bar 11 by any of several different forms of connecting devices. In Fig. 3 I have shown an arm 17 integral with the lever 17 and arranged to actuate the bar 11 by contact with the flange 11. In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown the lever 17 pivoted to the end of the bar 11 and provided with an arm C or C'that is designed to bear upon the face of the flange 26 so that it will draw the bar out when the lever is carried back by the approaching bag.

The retaining arm 18 may be mounted directly upon the shaft 19, that carries the lever 17, or it may be mounted upon a separate shaft, as 19, but in either case the shaft must be actuated by a spring, as 20, of sufficient tensile strength to force the lever 18 over to the position of its dotted lines in Figs. 3, 6, 7 and 8. The shaft 19, or 19 is held to position to hold the arm 18 in the. position shown by its solid lines, by means of any available form of trip, as shown in several of the figures. Thus, in Fig. 6 I have shown a spring trip A, secured to the net frame 16, and having a catch a that engages a corresponding notch in the shaft, and so arranged that when the lever 17 is carried to the position of its dotted lines in said figure, the catch a is drawn from the notch and the lever 17 is released and thrown forcibly forward. In Fig. 7 I have shown another form of trip at e, that will be readily understood, and in Fig. 8, where thelever 17 and the arm 18 are supported upon different shafts, still another form of trip is necessary and an available form is shown at c.

The frame 16 is provided with a net 16 designed to protect the mail bag from too sudden and hard a stop when striking the frame.

Up to this point I have described the re ceiving appliance, only. My appliance for delivering the mail bag to the car consists of an auxiliary arm, 18 attached to the end of the retaining arm 18, and of such a form as to receive and hold the mail bag safely when in the position of the solid lines, but to release and throw it from the arm when the arm 18 is thrown over to the position of its dotted lines. In Figs. 6 and 7 the dotted lines B indicate the mail bag, shown as being held to position ready for delivery to a moving car or train, and where it is shown as passing from the dotted outlines of the arm it is presumed to be thrown from the arm into the open door of the car. When this form of delivery is used it is necessary to make the spring 20, that actuates the arm 18 to cause it to press the bag closely in the net, much stronger than if the arm 18 is used simply to secure the mail bag when it is caught by the net.

One very decided advantage gained by the use of this implement is the possibility of placing several in a row and receiving or delivering several mail bags at once, made possible by the turning of the arm 3 out of the way, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, an action produced every time a mail bag is thrown into it.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination in a mail bag catcher, of a stationarystandard, arevoluble standard mounted on the stationary standard, an ac tuating spring mounted between said standards and actuating said revoluble standard, an arm projecting at right angles from: the

5 revoluble standard, and a receiving net and frame at the end of said arm.

2. The combination in a mail bag catcher,

j of a stationary standard, a revoluble standard mounted around the stationary stand- .ard, a spring between the standards and connected to actuate the revoluble standard, an arm projecting at right angles from the top of the revoluble standard, a receiving 5 net and frame at the end of said arm, and a spring actuated retaining arm mounted on said frame.

3. The combination in a mail bag catcher, of a stationary standard, a revoluble standard mounted around said stationary standard, a spring between said standards and i mounted to actuate the revolubl'e standard,

a lever for engaging and disengaging the revoluble standard and the spring, an arm projecting at right angles from the top of the revoluble standard and made hollow, a longitudinally adjustable tube inside of said arm, a shoulder in the outer end of the arm and a shoulder on the inner end of the tube, an actuating spring between said shoulders,

trip lever on said frame, and spring actuated retaining arms secured to said frame and temporarily secured by the trip lever.

4. The combination in a mail bag catcher, of a stationary standard, a revoluble standard mounted around the stationary standard, a spring between the standards and mounted to actuate the revoluble standard, means for connecting and disconnecting the revoluble standard and the spring, a tubular arm extending out at right angles from the side of the revoluble standard, a longitudinally adjustable tube mounted in the arm, an actuating spring mounted around the tube within the arm, a net and net frame I mounted at the end of the tube, a locking bar mounted inside of the tube in position to interlock with the stationary standard, a trip lever mounted on the net frame in posi tion to disconnect the locking bar from the stationary standard, and spring actuated retaining arms pivotally connected with the net frame, and means for securing and releasing said retaining arms.

5. The combination in a mail bag catcher, of a stationary standard, a revoluble standard surrounding the stationary standard, an actuating spring between said standards, an arm projecting at right angles from the revoluble standard, a receiving net and frame secured to the end of said arm, a spring actuated retaining arm pivoted to the frame, an auxiliary arm secured thereto to hold and project a mail bag, and a trip for locking and releasing the retaining arm, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination in a mail bag catcher, of a stationary standard, a revoluble stand ard mounted around the stationary standard, an actuating spring mounted around the stationary standard within the revoluble standard, means for connecting and disconnecting the spring and the revoluble standard, a tubular arm projecting at right angles from the side a net and net frame secured to said tube, a

of the standard, a longitudinally adjustable tube and an actuating 5 ring within said arm, means for temporaril y locking the revoluble standard to position on the stationary standard, a receiving net and frame attached to the outer end of the tube, a spring actuated retaining arm pivotally secured to the frame, a trip for temporarily locking and releasing the arm, an auxiliary arm at the end of the retaining arm, and means for holding an object in, and projecting it from said auxiliary arm, substantially as shown and described.

7. In combination with a stationary standard and a revoluble standard mounted around it with an actuating spring between them, a tubular arm projecting out at right angles from the revoluble standard, a longitudinally adjustable tube mounted in the arm and having a slot through it on op osite sides, a lever engaging said slots to ho d the tube tem orarily to position, means for temporarily ocking the revoluble standard to the stationary standard, a receiving net and frame attached to the tube, retaining arms pivotally secured to the frame, an actuating spring connected with said arms, and a trip for securing said arms to position and releasing them, and for unlocking the revoluble standard from the stationary standard, as shown and described.

Signed at Grand Rapids, Michigan, August 15, 1907.

JAMES M. CARVER.

In presence of ITHIEL J. CILLEY, BURT G. DECKER. 

